Anybody come across this thing yet? All in one pony bottle.

[The Chairman]

I don't think it's plausible to assume it will jump to 4x-5x and then remain there for the entire ascent.

Don't worry. It will go way down when you exhaust your insufficient gas supply. I promise.

 

[Kharon]

Don't worry. It will go way down when you exhaust your insufficient gas supply. I promise.

People who assume over and over that everyone reacts the same exact way that they do are just obnoxious. Give it a break.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

People who assume over and over that everyone reacts the same exact way that they do are just obnoxious. Give it a break.

Activities like scuba diving, aviation, riding motorcycles, etc, are full of memories of people who swore up and down that they were different, that it could never happen to someone as awesomely skilled as they were. Maybe you do have ice water in your veins and nothing could ever rattle you. Unlikely. At least acknowledging the potential would be more realistic.

 

[The Chairman]

At least acknowledging the potential would be more realistic.

Good post.

Denial: not just another river in Egypt.

 

[Vulkanman]

Tough crowd here, lot's of opinions and very little humility.

I dive with a 13 pony, because I had an OOA experience related solely to stupidity, on my first spearfishing venture. I could claim I was a little narc'ed but the reality is I got a little too involved and lost track of time. My air consumption went off the charts when I stuck a big AJ a little too quickly & went for a joyride. I know it could never happen to the guys that do everything perfectly and check their SPG every 15 seconds, but I was a bit overwhelmed at how fast you can suck air when things get really busy at the bottom. I had the best swim buddy anyone could ever ask for & we went to the anchor line and to the surface like we were practicing in front of a strict instructor, smooth and scripted. I realized how seriously different things would have been if ANYTHING had happened differently & decided immediately that I will have a secondary gas source anytime I dive. Could I have done a CESA from 95'? Maybe, I didn't feel a bit of panic until I was back at the boat, but I'm grateful that I didn't have to find out. A couple of breaths might make all the difference in the world.
I can tell you that I'm kinda fanatical about watching my pressure now, but things can and do happen, the extra weight feels like peace of mind.

 

[Colliam7]

Wondering what folks here think.

What I think is that it is not something I would buy or use. As a redundant air source a 6 cf bottle is insufficient for me. A 13 cf is as well. A 19 cf approaches the minimum I would consider acceptable. That is based on calculations of my SAC rate, probable effects of the stress of going OOA on that SAC rate, depths below which I might need a redundant air supply and the effects of those depths on gas consumption, my preferred ascent profile, and my estimate of the time required for a safe, controlled ascent from those depths in the event of going OOA. Personally, I do not consider swimming to a buddy / other diver with a functioning gas supply to be an acceptable option, so I prefer to be self-reliant as far as gas supply is concerned. Note: all of these factors are referenced to ME, so you may see the problem from an entirely different perspective. I personally prefer a slung bottle as my redundant air supply, even on Bonaire with whatever swells I might encounter. (In fact, I shore-dive with sidemounted double 80s on Bonaire.)

In addition, I can't see paying >$300 for what looks like a somewhat awkward, and very limited, redundant gas supply. That is what I think.

 

[NYCNaiad]

Why is it that everyone assumes that everyone else will react the same way that they do? As a matter of fact I have been caught up in several seriously life threatening situations - much more serious than an OOA situation. My reaction has always been 1. a calm "SHITE, I could die here" 2. "OK, what do I do now". I have never panicked in my life - so, no, my air consumption will not change drastically.

I had never panicked in my life either till I was sucked down deep into a whirlpool towards the end of my dive. I had been in other life-threatening emergencies underwater as well as topside & hadn't panicked till then.

There have been divers with thousands of dives & far more experience/training than you or I that out of the blue panicked when they never had before.

I don't assume you will react like me. I do assume that you could panic since it can happen to anyone. I hope it never happens to you. If you really do experience panic, you will likely be just as shocked as I was (& as many other experienced divers are). And your breathing rate will skyrocket. It's scary to me that you assume you won't have any problem.

 

[Kharon]

I had never panicked in my life either till I was sucked down deep into a whirlpool towards the end of my dive.

In a situation like this I most likely would panic and shortly thereafter die. Where were you diving. I don't think anyplace I dive would have conditions like this - I avoid current, wrecks, don't dive very deep (just don't see the point). I prefer high visability, warm, calm water with lots of fish. Except at home, of course, where the water is cold and vis is not great and the fish few.

It may not be the smartest idea to publicly announce that you are ignoring the Chairman who created & runs Scubaboard.

Sorry, that doesn't excuse snarkieness nor eliteism. If he wants to kick me off - oh well.

 

[Ojai Diver]

Another tedious pony bottle thread. Subtext, invariably, is that the bigger the bottle, the safer you are, which in turn means that you're a better diver.

I sometimes solo dive with a 6 cubic foot bottle--albeit with a real regulator.

Before anyone jumps on me over this, please note that I dive off the beach, seldom deeper than 60 feet. The bottle is for me alone, not to share.

The places where I dive are covered with round, slippery, ankle breaker rocks. Not easy to exit on even with NO pony at all. I'd love to see somebody try to do that exit with a 19 cf bottle.

Sometimes if you add safety to one part of the dive, you subtract it from another part.

Blanket statements of "You need to have an X cf pony bottle or else" are absurd. Obviously this depends on many variables, depth being the primary one.

 

[mi000ke]

As an aside, it seems that whenever someone poses a pony bottle question, regardless the diving context, it is invariably criticized as being insufficient if less than 40 cf (or sometimes 80). I do almost all of my dives off boats in the Caribbean (guided group rec dives in warm, high visibility water). I sling a pony, but have never - ever - encountered another diver carrying one. I assume that most rec divers do not. So if I'm risking life and limb by carrying only 13 cf (which I calculated to be sufficient), what about all those divers who carry no redundant air? Are they mad?